Jared Leto is infamous for his wild method approach to acting, and that apparently didn’t change much while shooting Morbius. In a new interview with Uproxx, director Daniel Espinosa confirmed the rumor that Leto’s process included limping to the bathroom on crutches to stay in character.
Asked about rumors of Leto’s lengthy bathroom trips during the interview, Espinosa answered with a simple, “Yes.” It was in reference to reports that Leto would frequently stumble with crutches to and from the bathroom, leading to extended periods of downtime for the production.
In Morbius, Leto plays Michael Morbius, who suffers from a rare blood disease that devastates his body. Because of this, the character requires crutches to move about – something Leto decided should carry over to his bathroom breaks.
This resulted in trips to the bathroom taking up to 45 minutes, leading the production team to strike a deal with him that included transporting him back and forth in a wheelchair. But despite the inconvenience, Espinosa seems to feel that Leto’s dedication was just part of the job.
“I think that what Jared thinks, what Jared believes, is that somehow the pain of those movements, even when he was playing normal Michael Morbius, he needed, because he’s been having this pain his whole life,” Espinosa said. “Even though he’s alive and strong, it has to be a difference. Hey, man, it’s people’s processes.”
“All of the actors believe in processes,” he continued. “And you, as director, you support whatever makes it as good as you can be.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Leto has been accused of strange method behavior on the set of his films. While shooting his role as Joker in Suicide Squad, the actor allegedly engaged in some incredibly unhinged acts, which included sending his castmates wildly inappropriate items like condoms, anal beads, and even a dead hog.
Unfortunately for Espinosa and Leto alike, the actor’s commitment to the character of Michael Morbius didn’t translate to a particularly well-received film. Morbius currently sits at a paltry 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the second worst-rated Marvel film behind the Fantastic Four reboot.
In our Morbius review, we said, “Morbius is unspectacular in ways that waste the potential of what could be an intriguing hybrid of sinister horror and superhero thrills.”
Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.
